Pant Leg Tote Bag

ABSTRACT

A tote bag made from a pant leg separated from a pair of pants, for example a recycled pair of denim jeans. The tote bag body is an upside-down pant leg whose cuff forms the upper end and whose separated end is sewn together to form the closed bottom. A carry strap or handle is added to the open upper end. A pocket and belt loop from the pair of pants can also be sewn onto the outer side of the bag as utility and ornamental options.

RELATED APPLICATIONS/PRIORITY BENEFIT CLAIM

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/393,172, filed Oct. 14, 2010 by the same inventor, the entirety of which provisional application is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The subject matter of the present application is in the field of tote and utility bags for carrying personal items.

BACKGROUND

Consumers choose tote bags and purses to meet equally important demands of fashion and function. Consumers also increasingly desire that products of all sorts be made from “green” or recycled material, which is beneficial to the environment and—if packaged in a way that is evident to other consumers—can serve as a means to identify oneself as environmentally conscious. Manufacturers and designers of tote bags and purses, for their part, desire to 1) reduce costs while 2) meeting the consumer's desire for functionality, style, environmental impact, and environmental cachet. These attributes are so often in conflict that tote bag and purse designs have been forced to prioritize them, often foregoing one or more of these attributes completely.

BRIEF SUMMARY

I have invented a tote bag made from a pant leg, useful for carrying personal items with simplicity, security, and style. The tote bag is especially useful for relatively tall, narrow items that carry better vertically than horizontally. The tote bag makes use of “green” material in the form of a (preferably recycled) pant leg as the bag body. The term “tote bag” will be used herein for convenience, and includes within its scope any personal carry bag for smaller portable items, without limitation.

The bag has a body with an open upper end and a closed lower end, the body comprising a pant leg separated or removed from a pair of pants and having a cuffed or hemmed end (hereafter “cuff”). The pant leg is oriented upside-down to form the bag body. The durable, pre-finished cuff end of the pant leg forms the open upper end, and the separated end of the pant leg is sewn or otherwise closed off to form the closed lower end of the bag. The bag further includes a carry strap or handle attached to the upper end.

In a further form, the bag includes a pant pocket (preferably a rear patch-type pocket, although other types are possible) sewn to an outside surface of the bag between the upper and lower ends of the bag. In a further form, the bag also includes a belt loop sewn horizontally above or below the pocket.

The tote bag also has design (ornamental) aspects, not only in the appearance of the bag as a whole, with an upside-down pant leg forming the body, but also in the arrangement of any pocket and/or belt loop.

In the preferred form, the bag is made from a recycled leg from a pair of denim jeans. Other types or style of pant or pant material could be used, but denim jeans are preferred.

“Sewn” will be used herein to mean the preferred manner for securing various parts of the bag to one another, but should be understood to include any technique or structure for securely and permanently fastening pieces of fabric together, including but not limited to riveting, gluing, taping and fabric-welding.

These and other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description below, in light of the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a bag according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the bag of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the bag of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3A is a rear view of the bag of FIG. 1 with an alternate seam.

FIG. 4 is a right side view of the bag of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a left side view of the bag of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the bag of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the bag of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is similar to FIG. 1, but with a belt loop feature in a different location, and with optional button closures for the bag opening and the pocket shown in phantom.

FIG. 9 is similar to FIG. 1, but with stitching and other details in phantom to emphasize the generic ornamental appearance of the bag.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring first to FIGS. 1 through 3, a bag 10 according to the invention is shown in an exemplary, currently-preferred form in order to teach how to make and use the claimed invention. Bag 10 has a body 12 made from a single leg of a pair of pants, in the preferred, illustrated example from a pair of “recycled” denim jeans that have been used and discarded by the wearer, although non-recycled (new) denim jeans could be used. Also, legs from other styles/colors/materials of pant could be used, whether recycled or non-recycled.

It would also be possible, although not cost effective, to sew the body 12 from pant material with the same structure, shape, and size as the leg of an actual pair of pants without the “leg” ever having been part of an actual pair of pants. Hereafter, though, the structure of bag 10 and especially body 12 will be described as having come from the leg of a recycled pair of pants.

Body 12 has an upper open end 14 with an opening 14 a defined by the cuff 14 b of the pant leg. Opening 14 a is preferably always open as in the illustrated example, meaning that it is not provided with a closure or fastener mechanism, although some might prefer to add a closure mechanism such as a snap, button, zipper or hook-and-loop closure, without limitation (see phantom button closure option 15 in FIG. 8). The lower end 16 of body 12 is closed, but since it was originally a part of the pant leg separated from the pants, it requires a sewn seam or equivalent at 16 a to form a closed bottom end. It will be understood that body 12 may be a partial pant leg or an entire pant leg, depending on the desired overall length of bag 10 and the length of the original pair of pants. However, enough of the pant leg is used for body 12 that the height of bag 10 (from bottom 16 to upper end 14) is greater than its width.

The original shape and style of the pant leg may be kept (flared, straight leg, full or narrow cut, etc.), or if desired the shape may be modified by tucking or folding or otherwise altering the original leg pattern when sewing bag 10. For example, as shown on the “rear” (non-pocket) side of bag 10 at 17, the original circumference of the pant leg has been altered toward the upper cuff end 14 b by folding some fabric over and sewing it to the original inner side seam 13 b. This is optional, and may be done for appearance, or to improve the shape of the bag's opening or its interior volume to better carry a desired item. It may also be a natural feature of the original pant leg. An alternate straight seam is shown in FIG. 3A for the rear face of bag 10.

Bag 10 includes a carrying strap or handle 18 (hereafter “strap”) attached near upper end 14. The material, length, style and other features of strap 18 may vary, and although the illustrated strap is long enough for shoulder carry, and is made from a relatively wide, flat piece of fabric (for example denim jean material, or a matching style of belt or belt material—with or without a buckle), other materials such as nylon, rope, or more rigid handle material could be used, without limitation, and the length could be shortened for hand-carrying. The strap could also be adjustable, to be shortened for hand-carry or lengthened for shoulder-carry, and could be removable attached to the bag if desired. In the illustrated embodiment, the ends of strap 18 are either sewn or riveted (or both) at 18 a to the upper end 14 of the pant leg body 12.

The pre-finished cuff 14 b of the original pant leg is preferred for upper open end 14 because it is more resistant to abrasion and fraying; because it looks attractive and distinctive with the finished or cuffed edge; and because it simplifies manufacture, since only one rough edge or end—the end of the pant leg separated from the pants—needs to be finished, which occurs when sewing it together at 16 a to form closed bottom 16.

The exterior of bag 10 may be supplemented with one or more pant pockets 20, in the illustrated and preferred example a single pocket taken from the same pair of original pants as the pant leg, and sewn right-side up over the outer side seam 13 a. Pocket 20 is not only useful for carrying small items, but it lends an attractive and distinctive ornamental appearance, emphasizing the pant leg “look” of the bag. Only the outer flap portion of the original pocket need be used. Pocket 20 may be provided with a closure, as well, for example the button closure shown in phantom at 21 in FIG. 8.

Another optional but preferred supplement is a belt loop 22 sewn horizontally, rather than vertically, to the outer side of bag 10, either above or below pocket 20. Belt loop 22 may be made from the same material as the pant leg, and may be taken from the same pair of pants. The horizontal belt loop 22 is preferably sewn to the outside surface of the bag at each end of the loop, leaving the middle section of the loop un-sewn, to allow carabiner or other clip attachments to the belt loop. Further, if such a belt loop 22 is positioned above pocket 20, any items clipped to the loop 22 can hang down into the pocket 20, providing security from loss or theft. Whether positioned above or below pocket 20, and whether sewn with a free middle portion for clip-on functionality or sewn flat to the pant leg, loop 22 also adds distinctive and ornamental appearance.

The tall, narrow, flattened-cylinder or flattened-cone shape of bag 10 is useful for carrying various small items, but is especially useful for carrying long, narrow items such as sandals, wine or water bottles, rolled-up yoga mats, some instruments, exercise equipment such as small dumbbells, and others, without limitation. The bag is durable, especially when made from denim jean or similar pant material. The depth of bag body 12 also adds security, hindering loss or theft despite the normally open upper end 14, partly due to the depth of the bag interior and partly due to the bag's shape, which carries exceptionally well next to the body, directly under the arm, when the strap 18 is worn over the shoulder.

It will finally be understood that the disclosed examples are representative of presently preferred forms, and are intended to enable those skilled in the art to make and use the claimed subject matter (the “invention”), but should not be construed to limit the scope of the invention. Reasonable variations and modifications of the foregoing examples in written specification and drawings are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims. It should further be understood that the use of the term “invention” herein is not to be construed as a limiting term as to number of inventions or discoveries or the scope of any invention or discovery, but as a term which has long been conveniently used to describe advances in science and the useful arts. The scope of the invention is accordingly defined by the following claims. 

1. A tote bag, comprising: a bag body with an open upper end and a closed lower end, the body comprising an upside-down pant leg with a cuff end, the cuff end comprising the open upper end of the pant leg, the bag further comprising a carry strap attached to the upper end.
 2. The tote bag of claim 1, wherein the pant leg comprises an actual pant leg that has been separated from a pair of pants.
 3. The tote bag of claim 2, wherein the closed lower end comprises a portion of the pant leg separated from the pair of pants.
 4. The tote bag of claim 1, wherein the bag further comprises a pant pocket sewn onto an outer side of the bag body.
 5. The tote bag of claim 4, wherein the pocket is sewn over an outer seam of the pant leg.
 6. The tote bag of claim 4, further comprising a belt loop sewn onto an outer side of the bag body.
 7. The tote bag of claim 6, wherein the belt loop is located above the pocket on the bag body.
 8. The tote bag of claim 1, wherein the open upper end includes a closure.
 9. The tote bag of claim 4, wherein the pocket includes a closure.
 10. A method for making a tote bag comprising: separating a pant leg from a pair of pants, sewing a separated portion of the pant leg closed to form a closed lower end of a bag body, leaving a cuff end of the pant leg open to form an open upper end of the bag body, and attaching a carry strap to the open upper end of the bag body.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising sewing a pocket to an outer side of the bag body.
 12. The method of claim 10, further comprising sewing a belt loop to an outer side of the bag body. 